US plans to livestream execution of Fort Hood shooter, first military execution in 90 years
The Army has scheduled Hasan’s execution for December 3 at Fort Hood. He was convicted of killing 13 unarmed soldiers at the military base in 2009.
PTC News Desk: The Pentagon has announced that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people and injured 32 others in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, will be livestreamed. This would be the first US military execution in more than 65 years and the first military firing-squad execution since World War II.
The Army has scheduled Hasan’s execution for December 3 at Fort Hood. He was convicted of killing 13 unarmed soldiers at the military base in 2009.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the execution would be public and that people would be able to watch it. Pentagon officials confirmed on Thursday that it would be livestreamed, although further details have not yet been released.
The announcement has raised questions about the public broadcasting of executions in the United States, particularly following a recent botched lethal-injection execution in Tennessee.
When asked whether Hasan had made any final requests or contacted President Donald Trump, Hegseth said he did not care and that they would see Hasan on December 3.
The Pentagon said earlier this week that Trump had approved Hegseth’s recommendation to proceed with the execution. The White House has not clarified whether the president supports livestreaming it.
Public executions are rare worldwide
Although thousands of executions were carried out across 17 countries last year, only two countries were known to have conducted public executions, according to Amnesty International. The organisation reported 11 public executions in Iran and six in Afghanistan in 2025.
Public executions have become rare around the world. The last legally authorised public execution in the United States took place in 1936, when thousands of people watched the hanging of a Black man convicted of raping a white woman, according to death-penalty experts cited by Reuters.
Media organisations have previously tried to televise executions in the US, but courts blocked those efforts. Experts cited by Reuters said they were unaware of any other country currently livestreaming a legally authorised execution.
Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013
Hasan, a former US Army psychiatrist from Virginia, admitted to carrying out the shooting at Fort Hood in 2009. He killed 13 unarmed soldiers inside a crowded medical building and injured 32 others.
A military jury sentenced him to death in August 2013 after finding him guilty of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder.
Hasan was 39 when the attack occurred and was due to be deployed to Afghanistan a few weeks later. Law enforcement officers shot him during his arrest, leaving him partially paralysed and dependent on a wheelchair.
He represented himself during his trial after dismissing his lawyers. He acknowledged that he was the shooter and did little to challenge the case against him. During his court-martial, he said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan. He also apologised for what he described as “any mistakes”.
It remains unclear whether Hasan will challenge the scheduled execution.